


The Last Airbender: A Dark Reimagining

by GentleBeast



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: All these tags will grow as the story goes on, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-06-09 23:46:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6929260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GentleBeast/pseuds/GentleBeast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's the last airbender... he's the world's only Avatar... and he's only twelve-years-old. A century-long war has devastated the balance of the planet—Fire Lord Ozai is at the forefront, ready to end the war with the approaching Sozin's Comet—and the only way to save the world is if the Avatar, the last airbender, Aang, can master all four elements and end Ozai's reign of terror. Aang and his allies must fight off the spawn of the Fire Lord himself: Zuko, the scarred, banished-Prince of the Fire Nation whose one goal in life is to present the Avatar's head to his father; and Azula, the cunning younger sister of Zuko, who possesses the power of blue fire and dominance. This is a darker tale of the legendary story. A darker reimagining of the adventure Aang and his friends went on to save the world. The question is, can the Avatar handle it this time around?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Airbender: A Dark Reimagining

**Author's Note:**

> This pilot-like chapter is pretty mellow in terms of what's actually gonna happen in this story. Nothing life-threatening or dangerous or sexual this chapter—but you can bet that the next chapter will have some. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy what I'm here to tell, and, if you do enjoy it, please express it with a kudos and/or comment. Constructive criticism is encouraged, just please don't be an asshole about it. If you don't like my story, then simply don't read it and certainly don't comment on it. That'd be wasting both of our time now, wouldn't it?
> 
> Alright, I'll shut up now! Enjoy!

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air… Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation _attacked_. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them; but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an airbender named Aang. And, although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save _anyone_. But, I believe Aang can save the world.”

**oOo**

The weather had been kind this week. The snow was light; it didn't add to the ankle-deep, mostly-compacted snow that already layered the ground for miles and miles. The water was calm and freezing, like most days, but it still had a small current to it. Katara and Sokka, after being sent out to fish by Kanna, used the current to get past the shallow, underwater ice-hills and into the open water near the splitting ice-cliffs. They passed a few floating chunks that’d broken off sometime ago; nothing special. Sokka _attempted_ to impale a fish that swam below them. No such luck. They continued “fishing” for another hour before moving onto the next area. So far: no fish.

On the opposite side of the ice-cliffs, Katara caught a fish with her waterbending, but, thanks to her brother, the “ _actual_ ” fisherman, the fish escaped when he popped her water-bubble.

“Katara!” He cried out; the water-bubble had burst above him and he got soaked. She didn't bother masking her smile. “It’s cold!” He sounded pathetic. She knew she could, with a little concentration, bend the water off him and his clothes, but why would she want to do that? “Keep your magic water to yourself, will ya!” Fine, then.

“It’s not magic,” Katara chided, “it’s called _waterbending_.”

Sokka rolled his eyes; he still classified the “art” of moving and controlling water with nothing but a few simple hand movements as _magic_. It was otherworldly! It wasn't normal! He certainly couldn't “waterbend”, as much as that disappointed him in his younger years; if _he_ , the man left in the South to defend his tribe, couldn't waterbend, then it certainly wasn't anything remotely normal. Katara was the _only_ waterbender in the whole South Pole. As far as he’s concerned, she’s magic, and the other magicians are located on the opposite side of the world in the Northern Water Tribe. Which, for all he knew, could be completely gone now. His tribe and their sister tribe hadn't been in contact with each other since the beginning of the Hundred Year War.

“It’s magic.” Sokka declared. “Now, _please_ Katara, the man here is trying to catch us some dinner.” He somehow knew that’d push his sister’s berserk button, and, fabulously, he was not disappointed by the results.

“The _man_? Really? Sokka, you’d have frozen to death by now if it weren't for me: a _girl_. I stitch up your torn pants basically every other day; and, for your information, they smell _disgusting_. I, and all the other women in our tribe do nothing but keep everyone happy, whether it be stitching clothes, cooking food _you_ can't even catch, or taking care of the small, shivering children that barely get any sleep at night because their clothes are always ripped, and their tents can't keep out the snow, wind, and freezing, ice-piercing rain. So, how about instead of being a misogynist asshole-douche boy, you try being a caring, helpful, and non-sexist man!” Sokka barely had enough time to look her up and down before she swung her arms and down came chunks of shattered ice. Oh, she had done it now.

“Katara!” He shoved her out of the way of a falling ice-chunk, and, together, they worked in tandem to paddle the canoe away.

The water was helping; the falling ice created splashes and waves that pushed them further from the ice-cliff, but that didn't stop them from drifting closer and closer to an impending iceberg. Time to panic. Sokka gripped his paddle and desperately rowed and rowed and rowed, his fifteen-year-old arms weren't made for this kind of thing; not that he’d tell anyone that. Katara, behind him, feverishly attempted to create a current with her waterbending, but whatever effort she had made, it didn't stop their boat from getting crushed between two ice-plates on the surface of the water; Katara did manage to pull herself and her brother up onto the rounded iceberg, fortunately.

“We… nearly died!” Sokka was shouting at the top of his lungs, “We’d be Tiger-Seal food right now! If it weren't for me, of course.” He was staring blankly out into the water, which was slowly calming from the sudden stir of falling ice, rising icebergs, and Sokka’s own frantic paddling. “I saved us!”

Katara didn't mind his rambling; she was far more interested in the _glowing_ iceberg. Sokka caught on with the curiosity and followed her closer. “Stay back,” he warned her, “we don't know what’s in there.” With a closer look, Katara could see… a glowing arrow? Eyes? A human? A _living_ human?!

“He’s alive!” She shouted, and, without warning, swiped Sokka’s club and had at it with swinging, slamming, and brutally busting her way into the iceberg.

“Katara, be careful! He could be dangerous—”

The iceberg practically exploded into a mass of snow and light ice. Katara and Sokka flew backwards while a beam of bright, white light raced towards the sky. Sokka glanced back to the human. Through the mist, he could see… a head. Shoulders. Chest. Arms. Hands. Waist. Legs… All the mist suddenly vanished as a very quick, and very _cold_ gust of wind blew past them. The entire iceberg—or what was left of it—shook and rattled and Sokka couldn't help but fall to his right knee. Katara helped him back up, and, together, the two siblings inched their way closer to the boy in yellow and orange.

“What the—?” Sokka saw blue arrows against pale, shivering, goosebumps-laden skin. “Tattoos…?”

Katara pretending not the notice Sokka’s tightening grip on her. He’d probably just claim he was holding her close, to protect her.

“Hi.” The voice was young and child-like. Innocent. “I'm Aang.”

The boy smiled at them; and pushed out his shaky hands, probably wanting a handshake. And there was no fucking way that Sokka was gonna touch this… kid? But Katara was already pulling off her parka and wrapping it around ‘Aang’, so he assumed—hoped—that this tattooed-iceberg-dwelling-pale-kid wasn't out to kill them or anything.

**oOo**

A Fire Nation ship sails awkwardly through the blistering cold ice water, swifting gingerly past large icebergs, avoiding falling ice-chunks, all the while trying to keep steady with the intense rapids that prove difficult to sail through even from Southern Water Tribe citizens. Zuko has feet planted firm on the ground, his chest taut as he holds his breath. The three soldiers stare him down; their masks showing no emotion at all. Zuko lets out his breath, and, with a swift right punch, shoots a fireball directly towards the center soldier.

The soldier dissipates the flames with ease, and, in return, fires back. The other two join in. Zuko runs at them, determined and willing; he dodges the first one with a side-step, slides underneath the second one, and firmly twirls his body as he takes control of the fiery flame from the third one and sends it right back. The central soldier goes down with a hard blow, falling flat on his ass a few feet behind the two other soldiers.

“Is that all you got?!” Zuko yells. The soldiers ready themselves. “Come on! Bring it!”

There was no need to tell them more than once. The soldiers burst into action: one sent a barrage of fireballs hurtling towards the exiled Fire Nation Prince, while the other ran towards Zuko with his fists tightened and fire-blades burning at their sides. Zuko ducked and avoided the first four fireballs, and the first swing-and-miss of the other guard, before pushing said guard in front of him and letting him take the next two fireballs. The guard floundered the floor in an effort to put out the fire growing on his clothes and armor, while Zuko charged for the fireball-guard.

Zuko ducked under the man’s fire punch, and, with his own, surged a powerful punch to the soldier’s jaw. The man crumpled to the floor with a broken, bruised, and burned-jaw while his soldier-helmet rolled across the deck-floor.

“Pathetic.” Zuko spit at the soldier, “And you three call yourselves Fire Nation soldiers.”

Without another word, Zuko slinked off to the side of the deck where his Uncle Iroh sat. The fat man was sitting down, enjoying a nice cup of tea with a Pai Sho board spread out in front of him. He appear’d to have just beaten the last man that played against him, and was looking for a new opponent. “Zuko,” his voice calmed the heavy-breathing sixteen-year-old; not that he’d tell his uncle that, “would you like to play a game of Pai Sho with me?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on!” Iroh smiled up at him, “It’s relaxing. You used to always want to play with me back—”

“Before I was banished?!” Zuko scrunched up his face; his scar was starting to sting. “I don't care about this stupid fucking game, Uncle! _All_ I care about is finding the Avatar!”

Iroh sipped his tea calmly, “I was going to say: You used to always want to play with me back _before I left to conquer Ba Sing Se_. Sure, you played a few good games with me after I returned, but those weren't nearly as memorable, because we didn't have Lu Ten watching and keeping score.”

Zuko’s face softened, but he quickly went back to his scrunched-up look. “I’ll be in my quarters if anyone needs me.” And, with that, Zuko stomped off. But before he could get inside, a flash of light filled the sky, attracting everyone’s attention. Zuko’s eyes widened with hope, and, just for a second, his scar didn't hurt as much. “The Avatar,” he whispered to himself, the beam of light was fading. “Captain!” He yelled out, “Set sail for where that beam of light emerged! Now!”

The ship began to turn in the direction where the light had once shined in the sky, but has since faded back to normal. Zuko smirked to himself, and headed back to his quarters.

**oOo**

“Hi,” Katara greeted herself. “My name is Katara. And this,” she motioned towards Sokka, “is my brother, Sokka.”

Aang smiled at both of them; his body was slowly getting used to the chill of the air—an old airbending trick Monk Gyatso had taught him: breathing slowly and methodically so you can warm your body with no need for extra clothing or physical warmth—and his eyes began adjusting to the harsh light of the bright sun against the white snow. “Nice to meet you both,” Aang took Katara’s hand and shook it, and then moved over to do the same with Sokka, but he crossed his arms and eyed the twelve-year-old down.

“Where did you come from? How did you get in there? How long were you in there? How did you even _survive_ in there?!” Sokka was bending down so his forehead was pressed against Aang’s, and Aang, awkwardly, leaned closer. Sokka seemed to mind, and pushed himself back.

Aang answered his questions quickly, not wanting to spend more time on them than needed. “Southern Air Temple. Storm, I think. Dunno, a couple days? And I dunno.”

"You _dunno_?" 

"Nope." Aang scratched the back of his head, before turning back to Katara. "Will you go otter-penguin sledding with me?" His eyes sparkled with hope—with fascination—of her saying "Yes." He used to love going otter-penguin sledding when he was younger with other Southern Water Tribe kids. Those were some fond memories: he remembered one boy bending a a curled-around wall of snow in front of Aang during one of their races, and Aang ended up having to resort to his airbending to dodge it. The kid wasn't happy, but Aang was having the time of his life—especially when he won. 

"Uhh..." Katara furrowed her brow, as if the question was odd. "Sure...?" 

"Great!" Aang smiled, he turned to Sokka, "Do you wanna come, too?" He could tell Katara was a waterbender just from the way she looked. She wasn't very confident in her abilities, Aang imagined. She was still a novice in her art. But Sokka... He was definitely _not_  a bender. 

Sokka crossed his arms, "I don't know. Did you say you were from the Southern _Air Temple_?" 

"Yep," Aang mimicked Sokka and crossed his own arms, "And _you're_  from the Southern Water Tribe." 

Katara took Aang by his shoulders, startling him to a degree, "Wait—are you an airbender?!" 

Aang smiled, before reaching up and gently wrapping his fingers around Katara's wrists. His eyes stared into her deep, passionate, icy-blue orbs of life and... Spirits! She looked fucking beautiful! He _almost_ leaned in for a kiss. But, judging from Sokka's look, and the way he's gripping his club, Aang thought best against it. The guy looked pissed just because Aang was now touching his sister back. So, without further ado, Aang wanted to give her a demonstration rather than a direct answer. For fun. "Does _this_ —" Aang moved back and, calmly, circled his hands around each other in a smooth, waving motion; Katara and Sokka watched in awe as the boy in front of them gathered air into a... _sphere!_... and, then it grew and grew and grew until Aang swirled around, causing the air-ball to fall to the ground, and, before their very eyes, Aang had bounced on top and was just... standing... on a ball of air. "—answer your question?" 

Katara quickly shook her head. 

"Good." Aang bowed, while still _standing_ on air. "Now, watch this!" 

The air-ball started to move! With a quick gust of wind, Aang unburied a long stick—a _staff_?—from the snow and brought it towards him, landing in his grip. Aang lowered himself into a crouching position and he maneuvered past Katara and Sokka. They watched as the twelve-year-old and his ball of air flew off the floating chunk of ice and began bouncing about on the surface of the water. "It's like he's dancing..." Katara moved closer to the edge, her mount agape and her eyes sparkling with curiosity and wonder. 

Sokka crossed his arms again, "Great," he mumbled, "another magic-bender." He stood behind Katara, to the left of her, and watched the tattooed-kid come back in for his finale. 

Aang's air-ball dissipated and, the next thing they knew, Aang was gliding across the water with the staff he took with him! He flew past the siblings and straight into a pile of snow; _that_ got a rise out of Sokka, who chuckled loudly. "Snow beats airbender! Ha!" 

His chuckles subsided quickly after Aang twirled out the snow with a jet-stream of wind, sending the snow _straight_  at Sokka.

"Snow beats Water Tribe! Ha!" The twelve-year-old giggled out the rest of his laughter while approaching Katara. "So... when are you and I gonna go otter-penguin sledding? Do you guys live around here?" 

Katara met his eyes, "Uh, we can go tomorrow. It's gonna get dark soon. And, uh, yeah. Our village is just past those ice-cliffs, but since our boat is nothing but planks of useless wood, we're stranded. Unless you can somehow fly all three of us back?" She sighed contently, and crossed her arms. Aang instantly saw the resemblance between her and Sokka. They were definitely brother and sister. 

"Well, _I_ can't. But Appa can!" Aang took off last her.

Katara blinked, "Appa?"

"Appa's my sky bison. He's my best friend, _and_  he can fly us all of us back to your village." Aang disappeared behind a mound of snow. Sokka had managed to dust off all the snow that landed on him, and was back to his quick remarks.

"A flying bison? _Riiiiigggghhhhtttttt_. And this is Katara, my flying sister." He put his hands on his hips and climbed over the mound. What he saw greatly surprised him—and nearly made him wet his already soaked-clothes. "Ahh!" Just ten feet in front of him, was a _massive_... thing! It had arrows like Aang, and horns, and legs, and a huge tail... "Holy shit! Holy shit! It's frickin' huge!"

Aang furrowed his brow, "Well, yeah. How _else_  did you expect him to be able to us all back to your village? He's gotta be big."

Katara climbed over the mound and her eyes widened with disbelief. It was a sky bison. A real sky bison. A _living_  sky bison. "I thought they were extinct." She whispered to her older brother. 

"Who? The sky bison or the airbender?" Sokka whispered back.

She didn't necessarily like her answer, it only made her sad—and made her hope for the Avatar to save the world dwindle. "Both."

Aang motioned them over, "Sokka, Katara, meet Appa. Appa, meet Sokka and Katara. Katara's a waterbender." The sky bison's mouth could easily fit all three of them inside—a thought that never left poor Sokka's mind after the realization. "And Sokka is... Sokka." 

Sokka deadpanned, "Gee, thanks." 

"So," the airbender patted his sky bison's head, "Appa, what'd you say? Care to fly me and my new friends back to their village? C'mon, buddy. It'll be fun. Stretch those six legs of yours!" Aang was smiling as he jumped, with a little airbending-help, onto his best friend's back, and then crawling down to the beast's neck. 

The mighty monster roared. 

Sokka jumped and Katara giggled.

"I think that's a yes," Aang cheered, "so we better get moving. Hop on." 

Katara began climbing on Appa's tail, while Sokka stubbornly kept his place—accepting unnecessary help from a beast was _not_  the way of the warrior. He pursed his lips and stomped his foot in the snow. "Katara, no. We do _not_  this kid and his magical monster taking us _anywhere_! We Southerners do _not_ accept charity." 

"Maybe that's why we're the poorest nation in the world!" Katara shouted down from atop of Appa. "And it's not _charity_ , Sokka; it's called _survival_. Without Aang and Appa, we'd probably die out here." 

"I highly doubt that." 

"Sokka, get on the spirits-damned bison!" Katara yelled, standing up. "Quit being so fucking stubborn!" 

"Don't curse at me! I'm you're brother, Katara. You're _older_  brother. I'm supposed to be protecting you, and getting on some stranger's pet monster is doing the opposite of just that!" Sokka pointed at Appa for emphasis. 

Katara shook her head. "No—if you're really trying to protect me, then you'd be getting on top of Appa an flying back home with us. Because, without Aang and Appa, we'd be stranded on this floating hunk of ice until we either die from the blistering cold, or starvation. _You_  are the only thing right now that's keeping me from protection. _You_  are gonna get us all killed. Who knows who could have seen that blast of light! For all we know, a Fire Nation ship could be sailing here _right_ now. And, because of you being stubborn as fucking hell, we're gonna get caught and tortured and killed." 

Sokka's head fell, and he sighed loudly. "Fine. Fuck. Just... _Fine_. Let's go." He climbed up Appa's tail and onto his back, inside of his saddle. Katara nodded at him.

"Thank you."

"Whatever."

Aang smiled back at him, before taking in a breath and hollering out: "Appa! Yip yip!" The beast groaned and took a few steps forward and... _straight into the water_. Appa was swimming and Aang was panicking. "Appa! Yip yip!" 

"So much for the _flying_  bison." Sokka crossed his arms, "The _swimming_  bison is far more accurate. And less appealing. We can all swim." 

Katara turned around, "Quit complaining, Sokka."

"He's just tired," Aang laughed, scratching the back of his head. "He'll be up in the air and flying around tomorrow—you'll see. You'll see he really _is_  a sky bison." 

And, with that, they swam on and on until they reached Sokka and Katara's village. Nightfall was closing in, and they knew their adventure with the airbender would have to wait till the next day... 


End file.
